The present invention is particularly applicable but not necessarily limited to the inspection of samples of ferrous powdered metals of the type employed in the art of powder metallurgy to determine their degree of contamination by non-magnetic particles. It is contemplated that the apparatus and method can also be satisfactorily employed for effecting a physical separation of particulated mixture of magnetic and non-magnetic particles on a commercial production scale.
Ferrous-base metal powders, such as steel powders, for example, are in widespread commercial use for the fabrication of a wide variety of parts and components employing powder metallurgical techniques. It is conventional practice to subject such ferrous powders to inspection to assure that they are of the requisite purity to produde finished metal parts of the desired physical properties. Analytical techniques heretofore employed in ascertaining the purity of such ferrous alloy powders have been exceedingly costly, complex, tedious, time consuming and normally require highly-skilled technicians to obtain accurate and reproductible results.
The magnetic separator and method comprising the present invention utilized in laboratory quality control determinations overcomes many of the problems and disadvantages associated with prior art practices in providing a simple and durable instrument and technique that enable accurate determinations of the degree of contamination of magnetic ferrous powders with non-magnetic materials which can be quickly performed by laboratory personnel or ordinary skill without requiring special analytical training.